Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Downgraded to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Liberty Energy has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen.
• Analyst ratings show a split, with one sell, eight hold, three buy, and three strong buy ratings; the average rating is classified as a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $15.65.
• In the latest quarterly earnings, Liberty Energy reported $0.12 EPS, missing estimates, while revenue of $1.04 billion surpassed expectations but marked a 10.1% decline compared to the previous year.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $16.00 to $13.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.15.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Liberty Energy stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $12.85. 4,958,018 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,330,183. Liberty Energy has a 1 year low of $9.50 and a 1 year high of $24.43. The stock's fifty day moving average is $12.22 and its 200 day moving average is $14.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 0.66.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 5.29%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Liberty Energy will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LBRT. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 257.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 281.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3,193 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 45.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $120,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Liberty Energy

Liberty Energy Inc provides hydraulic services and related technologies to onshore oil and natural gas exploration, and production companies in North America. The company offers hydraulic fracturing services, including complementary services, such as wireline services, proppant delivery solutions, field gas processing and treating, compressed natural gas (CNG) delivery, data analytics, related goods comprising sand mine operations, and technologies; and well site fueling and logistics.